THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
On June 17 Camille Jordan, deputy from Lyons, delivered an address in favor of the priests and calling for a revision of the laws respecting religion. On June 24 the directorium reported to the Five Hundred that, in consequence of the more favorable outlook in religious affairs, a large number of priests had returned and many religious organizations were asking freedom of worship. Finally a decree was passed to restore to the priests their civil rights, though in September of 1797, during a temporary period of control by the republican radicals, persecution of the priests was renewed, and of the returned priests stern requirements were made, such as vowing hatred to royalty. Under these conditions many of the exiled clergy returned, and about 17,000 took the required oath; but others were exiled, and about 380 transported to Guiana, while others died miserably on the islands of Oleron and Rhee.
The return of Napoleon from Egypt gave to the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church a favorable turn; the imprisoned ecclesiastics were g. The released, and freedom of worship was Coming of proclaimed (Dec. 28, 1799). The serv- Napoleon. ices of the Church were no longer confined to the first day of each decade, and the only requirement of the clergy was that they declare their submission to the law and the constitution of 1799, while the festivals of the Revolution were reduced to two. Bonaparte, believing the assistance of the Church essential in establishing his power, opened negotiations with Pius VII., and on Apr. 18, 1801, a solemn service was performed in Notre Dame. In spite of the strong hold unbelief had gained in France during the Revolution, 40,000 communities shortly returned to the Roman Catholic Church. A great difficulty arose in this restoration of the Church owing to the split in the ranks of the clergy over the oaths imposed by law. The nonjuring clergy considered themselves the only true representatives of the Church; on the other hand, the constitutional priests maintained that their attitude of yielding had saved its existence, thereby rendering the greater service. Napoleon at first was drawn toward the side of the nonjuring priests, since they seemed to be held in higher esteem by the people. Then he attempted to aid Bishop Gregoire, the head of the constitutional clergy, to secure reconciliation. But he soon saw that neither the pope nor the nonjuring priests would have anything to do with the constitutional clergy, and won the support of the nonjuring element by concluding a concordat with the pope in 1801 against the advice of Gregoire. Since in the concordat no mention was made of the Protestants, and the first article seemed to make the Roman Catholic cultus the one having principal rights, a special statement of Mar. 9, 1802, declared that the other churches were to enjoy equal rights with the Roman Catholic, it being the duty of the State to protect the nobleminded Protestant minority, which had many claims upon the respect and favor of the nation. Three months were allowed for the organization of the different ecclesiastical bodies. The ratification of the concordat could not be accomplished so quickly, however, there being many obstacles in the way.
Many of the constitutional and of the nonjuring clergy, and some statesmen also, were opposed ta the proposed restoration of the churches. A difficult part of the work lay in getting the bishops to lay down their offices. The pope, however, in Oct., 1801 directed both classes of clergy to lay down their offices, and was obeyed by all, even the exiled, except those in England. Bonaparte found opposition also among the political forces, the senate, the tribunal, and the legislature, and he had to use his constitutional right to reduce the membership of the tribunal before introducing the concordat. The concordat itself needed a " constructive " article defining the public policy of worship according to the principles of the document itself. This article, assuring to every religion the sufferance and protection of the State, was presented to the council Apr., 1802. According to it, without the permission of the government no bulls or briefs might be published nor any councils held; every priest was to acknowledge " Bossuet's declaration " of 1682 and promise obedience to the Church in spiritual matters and to the civil power in temporal affairs; the bishops, appointed by the First Consul and confirmed by the pope, were allowed to name their pastors, provided they sought civil approval before installing them; they might build churches and seminaries, but in the choice of teachers the confirmation of government was necessary, and the pupils might not become priests before their twentyfifth year; the new archbishoprics created were Paris, Malines, Besancon, Lyons, Aix, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bourges, Tours, and Rouen; the salaries of the archbishops were to be 15,000 francs, those of the bishops 10,000, and of the pastors 1,000 to 1,500. Of the property of the Church there were to be restored only the pastoral dwellings and the appertaining gardens; the use of bells was again permitted. The republican calendar was modified so that the week and its days were as they were before, Sunday thus being restored ; in marriage the ecclesiastical ceremony was again given its place, but a prior civil license was required. This article also provided for the Protestants that no confessions were to be published without governmental approval; the State paid the salaries of the pastors, previously appropriating church property. Two seminaries were permitted in eastern France for the instruction of the candidates for the Lutheran ministry, and one in Geneva for the Reformed faith. The direction of Lutheran affairs was placed in the hands of local and general consistories, while the Reformed were to have synods based upon the Church census. This constructive article became law without being submitted to the pope. The appointment of bishops became the bone of contention, the pope desiring that the constitutional bishops be wholly excluded, while Napoleon gave twelve of the sixty bishoprics to them. By the concordat the pope had yielded to the First Consul what had been refused to the assembly — submission of the Church to the civil power, while the nonjuring clergy had now by command of the pope to agree to what they had formerly resisted. On the other hand, the Church had won a politically recognized existence and with this a large part of its legitimate power,